Ngezi Platinum Stars coach Tonderayi Ndiraya believes the two-week break to pave way for national harmonised elections took some gloss of his team as they needed an element of luck to overcome determined Nichrut 3-2 at Baobab stadium.

Ngezi had a rather subdued performance, and despite taking an early lead, they found themselves trailing 2-1 in the last quarter of the match thanks to a wonder strike from outside the box by Farai Vimisayi.

A lucky goal from a goalmouth scramble from Donald Teguru brought them back into the game before a masterclass free kick from Godknows Murwira with just three minutes to fulltime guaranteed them maximum points and stay within a touching distance of log leaders FC Platinum who also won away to Bulawayo City.

“Look a win is a win, at this stage of the season you don’t care how you win because there will be a lot of factors to consider,” said Ndiraya.

“The break which was two weeks really affected our rhythm, having picked up in the win against Dynamos. I am sure other teams are going to be affected just like the way we did. I must also applaud the boys for showing great character and never gave up until the end.”

The win ensured that Ngezi Platinum completed a double over Nichrut having won 1-0 in the reverse fixture at Ascot stadium.